DocumentCloud: New Tool for Gumshoe Reporting

November 2, 2011–If you do investigative reporting, you probably rely often on large numbers of documents to make your case. This new, free tool can help you manage the evidence in a way that supports your story and helps you move seamlessly from research to publication.

Other Information Access News in Brief

November 2, 2011–Climate scientist Michael Mann wins bid to join emails lawsuit; BP and other Gulf oil spill CEOs won't testify before House committee; Republican House freshmen disappointed by Supercommittee's secrecy; Obama admin to issue disclosure rules for fracking on federal lands; WRI/Transparency Int'l panel on climate policy corruption, Nov. 3, 2011, in DC; proposed FOIA rule would let gov't deny existence of records; and bill to improve pipeline safety and increase access to info passes Senate.

Another Interior Science Probe: This Time on Delta Smelt

October 19, 2011–The latest episode is an internal Interior Dept. probe into the work of two scientists who study the tiny but endangered smelt which live in the Sacramento River delta that feeds into San Francisco Bay.

Reporters Committee Offers Digital Journos' Legal Guide

October 19, 2011–RCFP's free online guide covers many topics: credentials for bloggers; state and federal FOIA rights; libel and SLAPP laws; privacy concerns online; Internet regulation; and more.

SkyTruth Launches Online Environmental Accident Mapper

October 19, 2011–Reporters can now get a better picture of breaking environmental pollution events via SkyTruth Alerts on air and water pollution incidents, toxic spills, and more.

Texas Censors Climate Science; Sparks Scientists' Revolt

October 19, 2011–After officials appointed by presidential candidate Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) deleted references to climate change from a report on Galveston Bay, other scientists asked that their names be disassociated from the report.

Access to Environmental Info Will Be an Issue at Rio+20

October 5, 2011–In June 2012, the nations of the world will convene in Rio de Janiero for the 20th anniversary of the landmark 1992 Rio Conference on Environment and Development that set the stage for a number of important treaties, including the Montreal Protocol to protect the ozone layer and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

DHS: Taking the "Public" Out of Public Affairs

October 5, 2011–A frustrated Federal Times reporter filed a Freedom-of-Information-Act request for the names and phone numbers of all DHS press officers. When he finally got the 58-page list of names, the agency had blacked out all the work phones, cell phones, and e-mail addresses.

J-Groups at Press Club: Obama’s Science Openness Glass Only Half Full

October 5, 2011–The session, before an audience of journalists at the Press Club and another audience online, included representatives of the Columbia Journalism Review, the Associated Press, Politico, the Society of Environmental Journalists, the Association of Health Care Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, and the National Association of Science Writers. The EPA declined to attend.

Why Does the CIA Keep Climate a Secret?

October 5, 2011–A historian at the National Security Archives made a Freedom of Information Act request in March 2010 to the CIA’s Center on Climate Change and National Security (CCCNS). On Sept. 16, 2011, the CIA finally responded, telling Richelson that all the material he requested was classified and thus exempt from FOIA.